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Milestones

Meeting a significant other's family and parents is always a bit nerve wracking. Having your birthday occur during that same time period may make it even a bit more stressful.

Ask Keri, she'll give you first hand knowledge.

Recently my parents made a trip out west to tour around southern Utah and experience the natural treasures carved into the state's landscape. Not passing up this opportunity, Keri and I drove down to St. George to meet them for a few days of exploration and birthday celebration.

Bacon cracked and sizzled in the buttered pan. And stayed there, stuck in the overly thin frying pan. The pancakes I was making failed in an equally miserable manner. No amount of fiddling with the heat or oil could keep them from sticking. Birthday breakfast wasn't going very well. Plan B and our Egg McMuffins were missing cheese or other ingredients. Keri's birthday wasn't starting quite as planned.

Thankfully, exploring the sinuous and seemingly rhythmic walls from within a slot canyon is a magical experience that morphed the morning's cuisine challenges into a laughable memory.

My parents had never been is such a place and we were excited to be able to share in their encounter with this Dali like world. Our path wove in and out of the creek as we hiked up canyon, wading across the ankle deep water a dozen times before sandy banks reared up into vertical walls.

The path and the creek became one.

Clumsy numb feet occasionally stumbled over unseen rocks and clambering up wet ladders or around boulders felt more challenging that it should.

We continued our narrow sighted hike until our feet longed for the warmth of sunlight and we returned the way we came.

The next day found us getting dropped off at Zion National Park's eastern entrance. We were on the prowl for fall colors and a bit of isolation.

We mostly ran, though sometimes hiked when lungs or legs or earth required, and enjoyed the beginning of desert fall. We lounged in the lawn at Zion Lodge and ate ice cream while my parents returned from their own adventure.

Leaving the park that afternoon, we stopped by the visitor center to grab a permit for our visits grand finale.

"Do you have a rope?"

"Yes."

"Is it long enough?"

"Yes."

"Do you have wetsuits?"

"Drysuits," I reply with a grin.

"Even better," says the park ranger as he hands us our permit.

My parents laughed at us preforming drysuit yoga in synchrony. They'd been gracious enough to drive us through the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel to the head of the canyon we'd soon be descending and being mocked seemed fair payment.

Besides, the more that eyes are rolled the worse it gets!

A muted splash echos up from the shadowy chamber I'd tossed our rope into and Keri starts rappelling towards the splash's source.

Extra air in our drysuits keeps us buoyant as we roll on our backs, slowly drifting through dim dream-like hallways filled with water. We continue down canyon, making more rappels, eventually dropping into an aqua pool and finding ourselves in bright sunshine.

Our hike out took longer than the descent as we negotiated a pathless jumble of boulders within the creek bed. The same water that made us shiver in the dark became our relief from the sun when we dunked our heads to keep cool.

Hide and Seek

Making our way back to the road, my parents once again picked us up and we drove into the mountains and golden fall foliage.

Panoramic vistas with a kaleidoscope of color contrasted starkly with the environment we'd spent the morning exploring.

We ended our stay with dinner and the long drive home. This milestone passed with the same ease as each highway mile marker did at 75mph.